San Jose's captain comes back from injury and scores first goal of game.

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SAN JOSE, CA – May 8: San Jose Sharks’ Joe Pavelski (8) warms up before Game 7 of his teams NHL second-round playoff series at SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Wednesday, May 8, 2019. (/Bay Area News Group)

SAN JOSE, CA – May 8: San Jose Sharks’ Joe Pavelski (8) warms up before Game 7 of his teams NHL second-round playoff series at SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Wednesday, May 8, 2019. (/Bay Area News Group)

SAN JOSE, CA – May 8: San Jose Sharks’ Joe Pavelski (8) warms up before Game 7 of his teams NHL second-round playoff series at SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Wednesday, May 8, 2019. (/Bay Area News Group)

SAN JOSE, CA – May 8: San Jose Sharks’ Joe Pavelski (8), right, warms up next to teammate Brent Burns (88), left, before Game 7 of their NHL second-round playoff series at SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Wednesday, May 8, 2019. (/Bay Area News Group)

SAN JOSE, CA – May 8: San Jose Sharks’ Joe Pavelski (8) listens to the National Anthem before their game against the Colorado Avalanche for Game 7 of an NHL hockey second-round playoff series at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Wednesday, May 8, 2019. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)

SAN JOSE, CA – May 8: San Jose Sharks’ Joe Pavelski (8) passes the puck in front of Colorado Avalanche goaltender Philipp Grubauer (31) in the first period of Game 7 of an NHL hockey second-round playoff series at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Wednesday, May 8, 2019. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)

SAN JOSE, CA – May 8: San Jose Sharks’ Joe Pavelski (8) gets knocked to the ice against Colorado Avalanche’s Ian Cole (28) and Colorado Avalanche goaltender Philipp Grubauer (31) in the first period of Game 7 of an NHL hockey second-round playoff series at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Wednesday, May 8, 2019. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)

SAN JOSE, CA – May 8: Teammates celebrate with San Jose Sharks’ Joe Pavelski (8) after her scores in the first period of Game 7 of their NHL second-round playoff series versus the Colorado Avalanche at SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Wednesday, May 8, 2019. (/Bay Area News Group)

SAN JOSE, CA – May 8: San Jose Sharks’ Joe Pavelski (8) congratulates San Jose Sharks goaltender Martin Jones (31) on their 3-2 win over the Colorado Avalanche for Game 7 of an NHL hockey second-round playoff series at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Wednesday, May 8, 2019. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)

SAN JOSE, CA – May 8: San Jose Sharks’ Tomas Hertl (48) celebrates his goal with San Jose Sharks’ Joe Pavelski (8) against the Colorado Avalanche in the first period of Game 7 of an NHL hockey second-round playoff series at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Wednesday, May 8, 2019. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)

SAN JOSE, CA – May 8: San Jose Sharks’ Joe Pavelski (8) fights for the puck against Colorado Avalanche’s Erik Johnson (6) in front of the Avalanche goal in the first period of Game 7 of an NHL hockey second-round playoff series at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Wednesday, May 8, 2019. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)

SAN JOSE, CA – May 8: San Jose Sharks’ Joe Pavelski (8) hugs San Jose Sharks’ Brent Burns (88) following their 3-2 win over the Colorado Avalanche for Game 7 of an NHL hockey second-round playoff series at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Wednesday, May 8, 2019. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)

SAN JOSE, CA – May 8: San Jose Sharks’ Joe Pavelski (8), right, hugs Colorado Avalanche’s Alexander Kerfoot (13), left, after Game 7 of their NHL second-round playoff series at SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Wednesday, May 8, 2019. The Sharks would win the game 3-2 over the Avalanche. (Randy Vazquez/Bay Area News Group)

SAN JOSE, CA – May 8: San Jose Sharks’ Joe Pavelski (8) congratulates San Jose Sharks goaltender Martin Jones (31) on their 3-2 win over the Colorado Avalanche for Game 7 of an NHL hockey second-round playoff series at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Wednesday, May 8, 2019. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)

SAN JOSE, CA – May 8: San Jose Sharks’ Barclay Goodrow (23) talks with San Jose Sharks’ Joe Pavelski (8) following their 3-2 win over the Colorado Avalanche for Game 7 of an NHL hockey second-round playoff series at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Wednesday, May 8, 2019. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)

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The San Jose Sharks advanced to the Western Conference final after defeating the the Colorado Avalanche in Game 7.

The team captain Joe Pavelski who has been out since a hit in Game 7 of the previous series returned to the ice. He immediately made an impact scoring the first goal of the game. He ended up with a score and an assist in his return.

Pavelski celebrated two other times with teammates as Tomas Hertl followed his score with his own goal in the first period. The Sharks Joonas Donskoi had the final goal for San Jose in the second period. That was enough for the Sharks to win as they hung on to a 3-2 lead for the third period.

The photo gallery above shows Pavelski’s successful night.

San Jose will face the St. Louis Blues at 5 p.m. PDT on May 11 at home.

Nhat V. Meyer has been a staff photographer for the Bay Area News Group since 2000. He previously worked at The Virginian-Pilot in Norfolk, Va. for three years. He graduated with a degree in photojournalism from the University of Missouri. He covers all types of assignments including news, features, and business, with an emphasis on sports. He has photographed five Olympics, four World Series, three Super Bowls, NBA playoffs, and many other professional sports as well as college and high school sports.

Randy Vazquez has been a visual journalist with The Mercury News and East Bay Times since 2017. Formerly he worked for the South Florida Sun-Sentinel in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., where he also interned. Vazquez is a proud alumnus of the New York Times Student Journalism Institute and San Jose State University.